


Permanent

by Blooming_Blossom



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, My First Fanfic, bughead - Freeform, much fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-27
Updated: 2017-06-27
Packaged: 2018-11-19 16:29:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11317281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blooming_Blossom/pseuds/Blooming_Blossom
Summary: In which Jughead feels insignificant and Betty proves to him that it isn't true.





	Permanent

Jughead was many things. Delusional was not one of them. 

He knew that eventually the glass ceiling would crack, that all the pieces of his world would fall, and that everything he loved and cherished would leave him. Sure, it was fine now, but he knew it was only a matter of time ‘til everything, and everyone, left him. Jughead had learned long ago that nothing is permanent. His friends and his family were all like distant travelers; here to fix him up and leave him to choke on the dust after they finished, leaving him worse for wear.

Jughead Jones did not like being a charity case, which is how he felt his few friends viewed him. Of course, his friends would disagree with that statement, but he knew the truth. He knew that, sooner or later, everyone would go on and lead spectacular lives and he would be alone. Again.

“Babe?” A voice called out, shaking him out of his reverie. 

Betty Cooper was standing there, a smile lighting up her face as she slid into the booth at Pop’s that Jughead had been sitting at for quite some time. He’d planned on meeting her here, and while he didn’t regret asking her to come out, he felt a little ashamed to be thinking such sad thoughts around Betty. She was truly a light in the darkness clouding him, and he had no right to share his late night fears of being alone with the girl whose smile made him feel like forever could be a possibility. 

He gave her a wide smile and leaned over to kiss her softly-- trying to commit to memory what her lips tasted like. He knew one day she’d leave too. There were people out there way more deserving of Betty’s love, people who could make her happier. He didn’t deserve her.

Betty looked at him curiously. She had noticed something off right when she had walked in, saw how deep in thought he was. She knew him well, better than most people, and she could always tell when something was bothering him. Betty was just going to leave it be, let him tell her what was up when he was ready, but then he kissed her and it felt...different. She could almost feel the sadness coming off him, as if his soul had sunk into the deepest pits of despair. She decided then and there to do something about it.

“Jug,” she said, hesitating. “I can tell something is wrong. I know you probably don’t want to talk and that’s okay, but I need you to know that whatever it is you’re thinking, you can tell me. I’m here for you. Always.”

Betty could feel him tense beside her, his defenses on high alert. “That’s just it though,” he replied, his voice twinged with defeat. “You aren’t. I mean you are now, but you won’t be forever.”

He looked at her then and saw the hurt on her face. He hated pushing her away like this, but the voice in his head kept whispering all the horrible thoughts he had been thinking before she walked in, daring him to keep pushing.

He sighed and turned away. He couldn’t stand to see the concern on her face, the concern he didn’t deserve. 

“You want to know what I’m thinking? I’m thinking that everything ends. People leave. They say they won’t and they do. In ten years, everyone, all of our friends, are gonna have great lives, and I’ll be stuck here with nothing. I don’t even really have a place to call my own. I have people who love me, but for how long?” 

His voice broke then. “If everything ends,what's the point of starting anything? What’s the point of falling in love when you know it’s hopeless?”

Betty let out a breath of air. Jug refused to look at her, refused to let her look him in the eyes. He knew the inevitable was coming, he knew he was about to end the best thing that he ever had. Even though the voice in his head was roaring with approval, his heart was shattering. Losing Betty was like losing the sun. He didn’t want to be in the dark anymore, but he knew that it would only hurt worse later on if he continued to fall in love.

Jughead braced himself and was struck with surprise when Betty grabbed his hand and intertwined it with hers. He caved in and turned around to look at her face. Her eyes were shining with tears. She caressed his face with her other hand and gave him a small smile. 

“Jug, I can’t promise you that things will stay the same forever. Things change, feelings change. But right now, in this moment, I can promise you this: you do not have nothing. I know nothing feels permanent right now, but that's just not true. You’ve got the sky and the stars and the ground under your feet. You’ve got friends who love you. You’ve got me, I’m here. Stop looking at the future as some bleak black hole. No one knows what will happen in ten, twenty years. The only thing that is permanent in this life is the present. Right now, this moment, is permanent. I love you, Jughead Jones and that love is not fading. Not today. Hopefully, not ever.”

Betty looked at him, eyes wide and hopeful, and Jug felt his heart completely melt.There he was, worried about a future full of if’s and maybes, completely blind to the beautiful things he had right now. Betty understood his uncertainty, had the same fears, yet still focused on the positive. Focused on the good in her life. And, Jughead thought to himself happily, he was part of that. He was part of the good in her life.

Jughead looked at her and knew that everything that needed to be said had been. 

“Betty?” He asked, pulling her closer.

“Mhmm?” She hummed, perfectly content in his embrace.

“I love you.”

Betty laughed slightly. “I love you too, Juggie.”


End file.
